1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to insect capturing devices. More particularly, this invention relates to an insect trap for capturing and detecting bedbugs.
2. State of the Art
In the United States, the pest control industry includes over 10,000 companies and provides over seven billion dollars in services annually. One particularly elusive pest for which the industry's services are frequently sought is the bedbug. Bedbugs are small, parasitic insects of the family Cimicidae. Their nickname comes from their preferred habitats, which include houses, beds or other common areas where people sleep and dwell, such as hospitals, cruise ships, movie theaters, airplanes, etc. While bedbugs were largely eradicated in the United States in the early 1940s, they have grown in number over the past decade to near epidemic proportions. Bedbug infestation treatments can cost $300 per room or more. The cost to eliminate a large infestation can be large.
Bedbugs live strictly by feeding on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded animals. They pierce the skin of their host with two hollow tubes, one of which contains anticoagulants and anesthetics, which makes the bites difficult to detect, the other of which withdraws blood from the host. Bedbugs are typically active at night, just before dawn, and often reach their host by crawling and climbing walls. After feeding for about five minutes, they return to their hiding places. Early detection of bedbugs is difficult on account of their small size, propensity for nocturnal activity, and choice of inconspicuous dwellings during the day, such as wall outlets. Thus, the presence of just a few bedbugs in a particular room or location can quickly grow into an infestation, especially in large homes and hotels.
Bedbugs are attracted by warmth, carbon dioxide, and movement. A number of devices presently known in the art use heat, CO2, moisture, and/or other chemicals to lure, trap, and kill bedbugs. The use of such devices can be dangerous when used for traveling or in homes with children. Canine scent detection has also been utilized, but this method is very expensive, prone to failure and false positives, and is not readily available.